Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup ambitions came to a disappointing end following a 3-1 defeat to Everton. This is no longer an option that is open to supporters of Newcastle United, while it is customary for fans of top-flight clubs with delusions of grandeur to cope with Fizzy Cup exits by pretending the competition is beneath them.
For a fanbase that once celebrated the club’s recent trophy success as a breakthrough moment, the exit marks another significant setback in what has been a difficult season.
The performance, overseen by head coach Matthias Jaissle, drew sharp criticism for its lack of maturity and defensive errors. Jaissle, who was famously dubbed a “rock star” by CEO David Hopkinson upon his appointment, acknowledged the frustration surrounding the team’s display. Reflecting on the result, the German coach admitted that his squad needs to be more clinical and disciplined, noting that he may need to be more vocal to drive necessary improvements before the two sides meet again on Monday night. Fruit-flavoured energy drink brand from Thailand may only rank fifth in the domestic pecking order behind the Premier League, FA Cup and both transfer windows, but nobody will ever forget how much it meant to hundreds of thousands of overjoyed Geordies when their team did exactly that the season before last to end a trophy drought dating back to the Jurassic era, winning the trophy sponsored by a low-calorie. And with a quarter-final trip to the tough-tackling League Two bullyboys of Fleetwood up for grabs during their match against serial trophy-dodgers Everton last night, the travelling Toon Army must have fancied their chances of being in the shake-up again. Sadly, it was not to be and a season that could charitably be described as “mixed” hit another hole in the road as Matthias Jaissle – the German head coach, who Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson famously introduced as “a rock star” – masterminded another extremely tepid performance that smacked more of a half-hearted sound check at Trillians Rock Bar than his compatriots the Scorpions headlining the Wacken metal. Festival. “Well what do you think?” asked Jaissle of one reporter who questioned how much of Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat was down to avoidable errors. “And this is what is shocking and is frustrating as well and therefore I probably need to scream more. You need to avoid these mistakes, be more mature, more clinical in these situations, but that’s part of the game. On the plus side, Jaissle and his gaffe-prone players will have their first chance to either put this debacle behind them, or plunge their fans into existential meltdown on Monday night when they play Everton again. Then I did the next exercise and said, ‘this is not hurting,’ and I went into the room to my wife. It is something I don’t want to speak about too much.
Everton’s progression to the quarter-finals, where they will face Fleetwood, was overshadowed by the unexpected absence of Jack Grealish. The winger was excluded from the matchday squad after failing to attend training on Monday without providing an explanation. Manager David Moyes expressed his support for the club’s disciplinary stance, choosing not to elaborate on the internal specifics. While Moyes remained reserved, speculation has surfaced regarding the 31-year-old’s conduct, with questions raised about the player’s commitment to the team’s values. Moyes emphasized that Everton prides itself on high standards and hinted that the club would handle the matter internally. It is fair to say the 31-year-old is in danger of leaving a once great future far behind him and has clearly let his team down. “The one thing about Everton is that they hav, whatever the reason behind his ill discipline. Assorted pundits haven’t been so coy and have – correctly or incorrectly – linked Everton’s disciplinary action against Grealish with the player’s fabled fondness for a night out on the tiles, while Moyes was understandably reticent when it comes to discussing the circumstances surrounding his player’s absence from training. If required, those values extend to protecting their occasionally wayward own, here’s hoping that. As a 12-year-old, reading Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome, i clearly remember the first time I laughed out hard and loud.
Amidst the club news, Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski shared a detailed account of his recovery from a 17-month injury layoff that once threatened his professional future. The midfielder described the debilitating pain that made even simple movements like using stairs difficult. After seeking specialized treatment in Sweden that focused on his nervous system, he reported an immediate improvement in his condition. Kulusevski credited this intervention with allowing him to regain control over his leg and return to high-level football within a few weeks, transforming his outlook from a career-ending fear to a successful comeback. And I told her, ‘it’s over, we’re going to do this’. “It had been like one year and a couple of months and I still can’t walk on the stairs like a normal guy. He was able to change my nervous system and then it felt different. I started to play football and it got better every day. But it was different now, i was limping and everything.
The latest edition of the Football Daily column also sparked emotional responses from readers. One contributor, L Json, reflected on finding catharsis through the writing after a period of personal hardship, noting that even minor sporting mishaps described in the column provided much-needed relief. Similarly, long-time supporter Stewart McGuinness shared his perspective as a Tottenham fan of eight decades, expressing a sense of satisfaction that his own team had avoided the recent media spotlight, which has been dominated by the struggles of rivals like Manchester United and Chelsea. Tonight, 50 years later, after a stretch of horrendous bad years and months (and for my mental health, I exclude the struggles of Tottenham), I read the Football Daily column.
